“I can’t speak for anyone else, but for me, it’s a calling.” When Ethan was trapped in the fire—when he thought he’d never make it out—the things he’d regretted were all of life’s moments that he’d let slip by. Maybe that’s why he was plagued with doubts about his career choice. Was firefighting still his calling?

“A calling?”

He shrugged. No one had ever asked him that question. And he wasn’t quite sure how to answer her. “It always felt like I was where I belonged, doing what I was meant to do.”

She frowned at him. “You don’t sound convinced. I know you said you didn’t want to be a paper pusher, but if you were to stay in your current position at the fire department, would you get restless? Or would you be content with the position?”

His thoughts turned to his latest on-the-job accident. It wasn’t the only time he’d been hurt, but it was the worst. And he knew without his team’s quick actions, it could have been so much worse. But he wasn’t ready to discuss any of that. Not yet.

“I don’t know.” He got to his feet. He turned back to her and held his hand out to her. “We better keep going or we’re going to be late for lunch.”

Hannah hesitated for a moment, as though she wanted to continue their discussion, but then she placed her hand in his as he helped her to her feet. But when her foot landed on the uneven rocks, she lost her balance. He reached out to her. Both of his hands wrapped around her waist, and he drew her to him.

Their gazes connected and held. The breath caught in his lungs as he stared deeply into her green eyes. He was mesmerized by her. She was fiercely independent one moment but vulnerable in the next. And then there was her great big generous heart, not only for those she cared about but even for strangers like him.

He was drawn to her and he knew it was a mistake. He knew in the end they’d both get hurt. But as his heart beat louder, common sense was drowned out. His gaze dipped to her lips.

Would it be so wrong to kiss her? He’d been thinking about it for far too long. It wasn’t like it would be the start of a relationship. It would just be a kiss. But was it possible to kiss Hannah just once?

And then in the next moment, Hannah extricated herself from his hold. “Sorry about that.” Color filled her cheeks. “I’ll have to be more careful in the future.” She stepped away. “By the way, Amelia and Jake’s wedding is coming up. Did you still want to go?”

Still? It took him a moment to vaguely remember agreeing to accompany her. He considered politely backing out. Weddings weren’t his thing.

But when she looked at him with those pouty lips, how could he resist a chance to spend more time with her? “I guess so.”